It was a good homecoming indeed for the No. 25 BYU women's soccer team as they beat a tough Pepperdine team at South Field 1-0. Senior forward, Niki Fernandes, scored the game-winner with just under seven minutes to play.
'I thought we played a really complete game tonight,' BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. 'That is something we have really been working toward.'
The Cougars applied constant pressure on the visiting Waves. BYU peppered the goal with shots throughout the game finishing with 22 total shots and winning 10 corner kicks. The fans in attendance gasped with every shot as anticipation grew in a scoreless game. The winning goal finally came in the 84th minute when Fernandes got the ball at the top of the box, side stepped and fired the ball into the back of the net.
'It is always exciting to score,' Fernandes said. 'But my goal came at a perfect time.'
The BYU defense played remarkably well again. After giving up five shots in the first half, the Cougar defense only allowed one shot in the second half against a potent Pepperdine counter-attack.
'My defense made it very easy for me tonight,' BYU goalkeeper Erica Owens said.
The defense, made up of Paige Hunt, Annie Amos, Ella Johnson and Miranda Bailey played the entire game and shut down Pepperdine's star, Lynn Williams. Williams came in as the West Coast Conference leader in shots and goals but was held under wraps by a dominant BYU defense.
The cougars will look to continue this momentum at home Saturday, Oct. 19, against LMU.